Malaria is running rampant in parts of Africa. Why does this matter? Why should we care? Please read the following excerpt from a recent Time Magazine article:
Another African child has died of malaria since you started reading this article. Perhaps 2 million children in all will succumb this year.
The long-term consequences are insidious as well as tragic and even relate to the ability of the U.S.to prevail against the jihadists. Not only does malaria sap worker productivity and scare away business investment, but it also, paradoxically, increases the rate of population growth. Instead of having two or three children, couples in a malarial region often choose to have six or seven--unsure how many will survive. ...
Osama bin Laden has called for jihad in Africa, trying to capitalize on its extreme poverty. Here's how we can respond. While malaria has shaped Africa's poverty trap, it is a trap that can finally be unlocked. Spectacular technological advances, some stunningly simple, offer practical and low-cost solutions. The most obvious one is insecticide-treated bed nets, now cleverly engineered to last up to five years. The cost to manufacture, ship and distribute each net is $10. A new generation of medicines based on artemisinin, an extract from a traditional Chinese herbal remedy, is remarkably effective in treating cases of the disease, at a cost of about a dollar per treatment.
You can check out the article in its entirety from Time Magazine, The $10 Solution. A donation of $10 can make the difference between life & death for family in desperate need.
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